Originally posted by
[email protected] 28 2005, 10:54 PM
What can we conclude from the Republicans' decades long winning streak? Obviously that Republicans, including the President, are prodigious cheaters. How could anyone find any other conclusion. Am I right, Latifa?
No it goes back to the military industrial complex which we were told to be aware of by Eisenhower, and the attack on it during the 60s by the progressive left, which was triggered by the vietnam war. Since it is considered that we lost the war because of a loss of support on the homefront, since then large media has been consolidated by large right wing corporations which have a stake in an ever growing military budget. Hence why you see a 400 Billion dollar a year military budget in comparison to the world's #2 top spender Russia at a small 80 Billion.
GE purchased NBC, Westinghouse CBS, The advent of right wing radio began in the 80s spearheaded by Rush Limbaugh. The Moonies purchased Washington Times..ect..ect.
Around this time think organizations were also created as fake sources to inject into news stories. Using skewed and often inaccurate numbers which could be refuted, the refuted statements rarely make it on to network news or end up on page 37. These often single-issue groups have the ability to create multi-issue networks that can respond on a wide range of issues. The names are often deseving, Family Research Council, Heritage Foundation, National Center for Policy Analysis, Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace, Campaign for Working Families PAC. Those facts and figures brought by these groups rarely met opposition since there were no opposing single issue organizations setup to counter them and do the research. Through media laziness, those figures would often trickle down into radio airwaves and be retold by "radio personalities", who didn't define themselves as "news or media sources" didn't have to give in to false information given out as long as it was slander or liable.
The evangelical christians, prior to the 60s not a partner with the GOP, began adopting much of the same type tactics to sway general public opinion. They too created many single issue think tank organizations, purchased TV channels and created their own 700 club media network. Such successes were to increase fear of communism, hippies and promote a higher level of patriotism within their ranks. The often laughed about D&D scare of the 80s and of Satanic Cults lurking in every town and associating them with social outcasts, was on of thier earlier succesess. Such organizations like Family Research Council, American Family Association, Traditional Values Coalition..ect..ect.
The right wing then co-opted terminology and vocabulary to push back liberals and progressives. Attack words were Traitors, Slackers, Dissilusioned, Complainers, Trouble Makers, Smelly, Dirty, Unpatriotic..ect..ect. While adopting their own, like defending, Moral Values, Family Values, American, Patriotic.
This marriage of the GOP with The Christian Evangelicals worked out well, he would openely attack and put down the women's movement and immediatly have a christian right wing think tank like Concerned Women for America, backing him and giving him support. Likewise to push a tax program which his VP earlier called, "Voodoo Economics" because he knew it was a bad economic model, a group like National Taxpayers Union, backing Trickle Down Economics, sending a mix message to even progressives since the work Union was used to confused the quick newspaper reader.
Reagan won his presidency against Carter because at the time of the campaign Iran took American hostages. Carter, who has been acredited as one of the most diplomatic presidents of our time was unable to get them released. Public Opinion of Carter dropped as the Iran Hostage crisis grew. Media focused almost solely on this one issue with a lot of help by the only decade old media outlets being bought up by the right wing conservatives. Today there are more deaths, not hostages, of American civilians in Iraq and the air devoted to them has been less than 1% of the amount of time spent on the American Hostages in Iran. That is even with more media outlets now than before. The hostages were oddly released just days following Reagan's inaguration. Later it would come to light that Reagan had been doing shady deals in the Iran Contra Scandal. Deals were made to keep the hostages in Iran till Reagan was elected.
The White House releases the finding - signed by President Reagan on January 17, 1986 - authorizing the sale of arms to Iran and ordering the CIA not to tell Congress. Also released is the 2 1/2 page memo justifying the policy.
"The simple truth is, 'I don't remember - period'" - President Reagan writing to the Tower Commission to set the record straight about whether he authorized the arms shipment in advance.
President Reagan responds to the Tower Commission with a 12-minute speech in which he:
· Acknowledges that the Iran-contra affair "happened on my watch"
· Says nobler aims of long-term peace "deteriorated...into trading arms for hostages"
· Calls the deal "a mistake"
As for his "management style", the problem was that "no one kept proper records of meetings or decisions," which led to his inability to recall approving the arms shipment. "I did approve it," says the President. "I just can't say specifically when." He adds, "Rest assured, there's plenty of record-keeping going on at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue."
During the testimony about Iran Contra.
John Poindexter is reported to have used the phrase "I can't recall" (or some variation thereof) 184 times during his five days of testimony.
During two days of testimony, Ed Meese used the phrase "I can't recall" (or some variation thereof) 340 times.
It is like the most forgetfull administration in the world. S&L scandal the check cashing scandal was swiflty dealt with. Bush then did this as President on December 25th so nobody would be paying any attention.
http://www127.pair.com/critical/pardonsm.jpg
Poindexter who is a felon and has been charged with a treason, who was later pardoned by Bush on Dec. 25th, enjoys work on CNN's Crossfire at times and other political media outlets.
The final blow to the democrats was the impeachment of President Clinton. Reagan who admitted to trading weapons for hostages, nothing. The investigation into the Iran Contra which spanned countries and continents... not even a fraction of the cost spend hunting President Clinton for 6 years for Whitewater. 286 Million dollars later (more expensive than pulling an exploded passenger plane out of the bottom of the ocean, resembling it and figuring out why it exploded) found nothing of wrong doing in whitewater investments, but did find a Blow Job and a cheating husband.
In 2000 George Bush lost the presidential election, later total recount of all the votes would have made Al Gore president. A 5-4 Federal Supreme Court ruled in favor for Bush on a State Issue, handing him the presidency.
George Bush is now being found out to have paid for propaganda by paying off 3 (that we know of so far) editors. Editors that never discloused this information to their readers.
So yes, they lie cheat and steal.